Another Weak Latin America Op-Ed

Enrique Krauze has a curious op-ed about Latin American politics in the New York Times.

First, it stems from a friendly disagreement he had with Mario Vargas Llosa a few months ago, which immediately leads me to ask why he didn't publish it a few months ago.

Second, he concludes that things look good from Peru and bad from Mexico, which may explain divergence from Vargas Llosa but tells us little about the region.

Third, he totally ignores Central America. If you want to talk about how great the problems of coups and political violence are, then it's a problematic omission.

On the other hand, I suppose it's good to have an op-ed that does not just consist of "the U.S. needs a grand strategy toward Latin America" or "Venezuela is at the forefront of a Hezbollah/Iran/Al Qaeda offensive against the American Way."